どのようにそれを感じる？:Dono you ni sore wo kanjiru?:What's It Like?
by CallMeButLove
Summary: The night before his first REAL mission as a ninja, Naruto heads to the ramen bar - where else right? However, this is no ordinary evening. *SPOILERS for the manga, Volume 1 & Episode 2 of the anime* PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!


どのようにそれを感じる？

*(What is it like? How does it feel?)*

A Naruto Fan Fiction

By

_~CallMeButLove~_

Naruto © 岸本斉史 *(Kishimoto Masashi)*

The night was a warm one. Konoha really had the loveliest weather anyone could ask for in mid to late May. The flowers were in bloom, the sun warmed the earth and the people below, just enough through the day to make the cooler temperature come evening, refreshing and pleasant. Nothing like it, as far as most village residents, be they Shinobi or civilian, were concerned. This particular night was exceptionally lovely, so the majority of the population was outside enjoying it. There was a festive atmosphere, with lanterns and Sakura blossoms shimmering in the night breeze. There was music drifting over the landscape, probably from some local amateurs, but nice all the same.

People in every direction could be seen wearing colorful spring yukata, smiling and laughing, eating their dinners, and simply being together. Peaceful and idyllic, this was a night that twelve year old Uzumaki Naruto couldn't bring himself to stay indoors. After all, who in their right state of mind would willingly remain at home with only instant cup-ramen for dinner, when there was the finest, fresh-made, delicious version right outside at Ichiraku's. He could see the lantern lights from his window and it seemed like the perfect time to hold a little mini-celebration (again) of the fact that starting tomorrow, his dreams would begin. Tomorrow, he would go on his very first real mission with his new team.

The blonde child bounced his way out his apartment door, locking it behind him and took off, full tilt toward the sights and sounds of the village. Now, Naruto was **always** full of energy and possessed a nearly perpetual smile even in his worst moments, but tonight he was buoyed even more by the general happiness of the crowd, coupled with his excitement over his first chance to leave the village and see some of the wide world. He jovially made his way through the streets and had come about half way, when suddenly he came to a crashing halt. Someone very tall stood directly in his path, seeming to have appeared there from out of thin air. Naruto bounced back from the impact and landed, very un-Shinobi-like, on the seat of his trademark orange pants.

"Oof! Excuse me," Naruto dutifully apologized, rubbing the back of his sunny head as he smiled up at the person he'd bumped into.

He hoped whoever it was wasn't a Ninja, or they'd think he was worthless for not sensing or seeing them there. He also hoped they wouldn't be angry with him. At least he hadn't knocked them down, too.

"Well, if it isn't the Curse of Konoha?" the big man sneered loudly, with a sake-laced voice that boomed in the night air.

His volume and tone caught the attention of several of his companions who stepped nearer to the little orange-clad figure on the ground. Naruto was disappointed, as he always was, when people were cold toward him. He was not used to them actually saying much to his face though. He looked down briefly and his smile flickered. Why would people suddenly call him a name like that? Usually they simply ignored him, glared at him, or whispered about him with icy expressions. Nothing had changed but–

"Oh," he mumbled without realizing he'd said it out loud. The difference was probably that word had gotten out about Mizuki, and now everyone knew that Naruto was aware of the fox sealed up somewhere inside him. His hand strayed to his abdomen as he pondered its, now exposed secret tenant…

"Maybe that changes the special rule, now that I know the truth about the Nine-tails," he wondered silently. He looked up at the rude man again, and bravely defended himself.

"I'm not a curse, and I'm not the Kyuubi either! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the Hokage in this village someday! You better believe it!" His voice was strong, though his heart was pounding in his chest from the large group of startlingly vicious expressions.

The words, he shouted with as much conviction in his dreams as a twelve year old possesses, but the man and his group of cronies merely scoffed and laughed off Naruto's statement. They continued to taunt him, shouting and jeering with devious delight in the boy's suffering.

"Demon!" said one. "Monster!" shouted another.

"Worthless brat!" a new voice chimed in. "Why don't you just leave?" inquired an even angrier enemy.

"Kyuubi, you should hurry up and die!" slurred the first man, the tall one.

As the cruel words flew at him in a barrage from all sides, Naruto initially tried to argue and shouted retorts, his fists clenched and his voice thick. He stood to face his enemies, as any good Shinobi would, but there were many of them and they were all civilians. He couldn't very well use his ace ninjutsu on opponents who could not defend themselves. Therefore, shadow clones, like the ones he'd used against Mizuki-sensei were out of the question. He supposed he'd have to just stand tall and take their cruelty until they got tired of him and went away. That usually worked with other children; if you let them get bored, they go away faster. Of course schoolyard fights were OK. A bloody nose, here and there, among kids his age was generally not met with actual retribution unless a grown-up was right there to see the fight.

The boy, who had more honor than any and all of the adults in this inebriated gaggle, straightened his back, and stood tall as they insulted, berated, and belittled him. Gradually as the minutes wore on, his head lowered slightly just enough to avoid their eyes as tears began to well up in his. Really, this was too much for the youngster to take. Just when Naruto was about to give in to total despair and angrily retaliate with a jutsu –he'd face the consequences of using one on 'defenseless' civilians later– a very loud, and very angry bellow came from the direction behind Naruto. At first he was frightened, thinking that someone else was coming for him, but then he registered the voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" shouted the utterly irate academy instructor, Umino Iruka. "This is **a child**, _a child from this village_, and you're all adults! You should all be ashamed to call yourselves men!"

The leader of the wolf pack swaggered, snickered, and pulled a draft from his sake bottle. He never said a word before he, stupidly, took a drunken swing at Iruka. When he missed, he stumbled forward and had to be caught, mid-fall, by his buddies. Iruka had dodged the blow and swiftly moved Naruto to a new position for good measure, keeping himself physically between the unruly man and his newly graduated student.

"I will not tolerate any more of this violent behavior toward my precious student. You are violating several of the village codes with your actions and I will arrest you if you continue." Iruka sounded so authoritative and cool to Naruto's young ears.

The little crowd of onlookers gradually began to disperse back into the sake bar they had come from. Some moved on from there towards other entertainment to be found in the village. Iruka fumed at their retreating backs, breathing heavy more from ire than exertion, and squared off against the original assailant. The stubborn fool would not back down. He was either truly stupid, or just too drunk to realize the danger of his situation. Iruka would try not to harm him, only doing so if necessary to subdue and arrest him, but the man would not be expected to know that protocol. He recklessly tried again to attack and this time Iruka immobilized him with a quick punch to the gut. The man fell as his breath left him, and Iruka quickly dug a knee into his back and restrained him – pinned to the ground. Once he had secured his prisoner, the young teacher pulled the criminal's head up by the hair and snarled, dangerously low, in the man's ear.

"If you ever even think of attacking an innocent child again, you will answer to me! I mean what I say and I stand by my words, if you threaten or mistreat Naruto, or any of my students, ever again – I swear to you, Shinobi or not, I will make you regret it. Naruto is my most promising student, and he is poised to become a fine Shinobi very soon." Here the chunin paused, letting his message be received.

"He is not, nor was he ever the Kyuubi. He saved the whole village by becoming the container. Beyond that, as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, he will protect you, and your family, and your home once he is strong enough – so you owe him your thanks. Now apologize!" Now Iruka panted slightly with the intensity of his words.

…Nothing…no reply…

"I said, apologize – now!" Iruka was fast approaching a point of no return here.

He was so angry. Fortunately no senior ranked Nin came by the area so none observed this borderline breach. Naruto who was still recovering from the shock –and relief– of having his teacher arrive at just the right time, suddenly chose this moment to speak to the older ninja.

"Um, Sensei? Sensei?"

"It's all right Naruto, this miserable person will not do this kind of thing ever again. I won't-" he was cut off by his blue-eyed student, which surprised him, but what was more surprising was what the boy said.

"Sensei, he can't apologize. He's asleep." (He was not yet experienced enough to recognize that the man's overindulgence had been the true cause of his unconscious state.)

"Besides, I don't need him to say anything. I can just show him the truth about me, someday when I become the Hokage! He'll see me then, _for me_ and not the fox, and that'll be enough."

He paused and then added, "Besides, I don't want you to get into trouble for anything, Sensei. I would never want that to happen because of me; so just stop now, OK?"

Iruka was very touched by the boy's attitude, and moved to rise from his position atop the prisoner. He winced slightly from the injuries, still healing, which Mizuki had inflicted upon him. With the sudden rush of defending his student, he had been able to manage well, but now that he was calming down, the pain from the shuriken wounds had returned full force. Naruto noticed this and he began to fidget, with guilt now weighing on his mind. He decided to go ahead to Ichiraku's now that everything was OK again. He was now even hungrier than before with the adrenaline leaving his bloodstream too. Besides that, he was anxious to be away from the scene, and the reminders of what Mizuki had done to his sensei.

"Hey Naruto, wait a minute!" Iruka called to the orange blur as he began to speed off into the night.

"What is it Iruka-sensei?" The boy asked with a nervous edge in his voice.

Iruka wondered what the rush was about, but he said nothing of it. "Where were you headed before this guy stopped you?"

"I, um… well… I was going to get ramen, but um, I…" he trailed off still disconcerted.

"Come with me to drop this guy off at the civilian police station and then we'll go together. I'm pretty hungry now too." At Naruto's troubled look Iruka added, "Don't worry, it's my treat."

This reassurance didn't have the anticipated effect though, and Iruka began to worry that perhaps the boy had been hurt somehow by the ruffians after all. He was about to inquire about the possibility when Naruto spoke up.

"Well, thanks Sensei, but I mean, don't you want to rest now? You're injured. I know your wounds still hurt, I can tell by your face when you move." Suddenly the young rookie looked nothing like a ninja at all, and morphed into a mere boy, worried and caring, which of course he was.

"I'm OK, Naruto. I promise – don't worry. Come on, you can be my partner and log your first arrest. You have helped remove a criminal from our streets tonight. Good job!" The enthusiastic young Shinobi brightened a this and began to bounce back and forth from leg to leg peppering the teacher with questions.

"Now, now, calm down, Naruto. When we get there, you just stand beside me and listen to my report. You won't need to speak unless someone asks you a question. Listen closely to the code violations and watch the process. You will need to know how to do this for any future incidents. For now though, watch quietly, OK?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Good. When we're finished here, we'll head back to Ichiraku's for some ramen, and if you have questions you can ask me while we eat." Iruka watched the old fire return to Naruto's eyes with no small satisfaction, and smiled back at the boy.

"Understood!", Naruto affirmed.

Naruto did precisely as he was told, for once. He helped Iruka support the weight of the unconscious man and stood listening, at attention, while Iruka made his official complaint and subsequent arrest report. The officer processed the man and stowed him away in a holding cell for the night, and the two ninja left together, as they had come in – side by side. As they entered Ichiraku, Iruka and Naruto greeted Teuchi-san and Ayame and ordered their bowls. While they waited, the teacher told the rookie Nin about the last step in this impromptu mission.

"We'll need to stop by the Hokage's office and make a report so that the incident is documented in the archive files. I'll come with you tomorrow, before you leave for Team Seven's inaugural mission."

"Ok," came the distracted reply from Naruto, who had not taken his eyes off the ramen pot yet.

"Naruto, I think you should make the report to the Third. You need to get used to doing it, and I'll be right there to help if you forget anything. This was your first arrest, but it still needs to go into your mission record. You think you can do it?", Iruka's silent challenge was the perfect motivator.

"Of course I can! Only, couldn't we go there tonight? I'm not good at remembering things from a long time ago, and Team Seven leaves for the Land of Waves at six am, so…" The boy looked hastily at his older companion and then directly shifted his gaze back to the boiling ramen, now being drained, and the soup being ladled in. All that remained was to add the toppings...

"Ok, we'll stop by tonight after this and make the report," Iruka conceded.

Once the food arrived, things got quiet for a little while except the sounds of contented slurping of noodles and broth. After a while, and a repeat helping or two more than half gone, Naruto asked a question.

"Say, say, Iruka-sensei, what's it like?", muffled by a mouthful as it was, the question was rather vague.

"What's _what_ like, Naruto?", Iruka turned toward the youngster, seeking clarification.

"…"

"Naruto?"

"…"

"Well, um… you…" the little ninja was clearly mulling his next words over with some difficulty, so his former teacher soothed him.

"Naruto, you don't have to worry. I won't yell at you. We're not at school; you are a fellow Shinobi now, not my student. This is dinner after a successful mission, not a lesson. What's bothering you?", he smiled at the golden head, bent over the ramen bowl, beside him.

"I don't know what it must be like and that man tonight made me wonder. He has a son who was at the Academy, even though the man's not a ninja, doesn't he?"

"I think so, yes," Iruka gazed, unseeing at the wall, remembering. "His wife was a Jounin though, before she died."

"Some of the others with him have children too. I've seen them getting picked up at the playground, and I saw that man at the graduation."

"So, what were you wondering about, about them?", Iruka steered the easily side-tracked child back the original point, gently.

"You remember your parents right, Sensei?" Naruto asked as he toyed with a slice of pork still in his bowl.

"Yes I do. I remember them both very well," Iruka's reply was wistful, but not bitter.

"I mean, I know it's my fault they're not here, but–" Naruto was abruptly cut off just as he'd gathered the courage to ask his real question.

"Stop right there, young man!" Iruka didn't yell, but he was firm – slipping into a teacher's tone without really meaning to.

"Huh?" Came the wide-eyed inquiry.

Iruka modulated his tone and spoke, this time with a voice that was warm, and welcoming. The voice sounded soothing even to Iruka, who was speaking. There was a strength in it too, an authority, and a sense of safety which was very reminiscent of the young man's own father, he realized.

"I don't care what those thoughtless, rude people from earlier said. You heard what I told them, didn't you? It is **not** your fault that the Kyuubi attacked. The Fourth Hokage _chose you_ to save us all. He was a wise Shinobi; he must have known what he was doing. I don't ever want to hear you blame yourself for what happened that night. _You did not cause any of it – you were just special enough to be chosen to end it_."

"You really meant all that, when you yelled at them, huh Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes I did – every word," he smiled as he spoke.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, ask your question," he prodded while taking another bite of his own meal.

"Say, what's it like to have parents who love you? I mean, how does it feel to know that they're proud of you, and there for you?" Naruto's innocent face tilted up to him, with a pensive yet hopeful expression, nearly broke Iruka's heart.

To think he'd waited as long as he did to reach out to this lonely child; he'd never make up for the delay. Not if he tried for the rest of his life. That wouldn't stop him from doing it though, his heart had decided that much for him a while ago. This precious, infuriating, adorable, menace of a boy needed someone to rely on, and that someone would be Umino Iruka, even if it killed him. The teacher dearly loved _all_ his students, honestly he did. But there was just something about Uzumaki Naruto that made the bond deeper.

"It feels… warm, safe. It feels – Naruto, do you remember when you earned that headband you're wearing? Do you remember how you felt when I gave it to you?" He decided to use Naruto's tendency of learning by experience, to help him understand this concept too.

"I was really happy!"

"Did you know how proud of you I was at that moment?"

"You were?"

"Of course I was. You saved my life, and besides that you fought well – like a splendid Ninja of Konoha. I was, _and am_, very proud of you."

"… …"

"Naruto, are you OK?" Iruka began to worry any time this particular boy stayed silent.

"… I understand now, Sensei," was the hushed response from the usually boisterous rookie.

"You do?" Iruka wondered if the boy had really caught on so quickly.

"Yes. You're right; it feels warm and – nice. Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Naruto's eyes shimmered, but he did not cry as he looked back down at his ramen bowl, now empty and cold.

"Anytime, Naruto. Anytime," Iruka hadn't felt this satisfied in quite a while, he sighed quietly to himself with a far away look in his eyes.

"Sensei?"

"Hmm?" The older man was still lost in his thoughts.

"The bill is here…"

"Oh, OK- Aaahh! Naruto? Six bowls of deluxe ramen with extra pork _and_ extra eggs? How did you? - - Oh, never mind."

The laughter of one, now penniless, Chunin and that of one Genin with the brightest of all blue eyes, and most endearing smile in the Land of Fire, could be heard floating on the night air by all who passed by.

おわり

(Owari)


End file.
